Directions:Do two compositional sketches for future works of art. In these sketches, you should break the space up into beautiful shapes. Each negative and positive shape should be beautiful. I don't want to define "beautiful" too much here, except to say that you personally should respond to these shapes. They should not be drab, sickly, or ugly. Think about things that are commonly seen as beautifully-shaped--butterflies, flowers, leaves, certain clouds and fishes--what is it about these shapes that makes them beautiful?
Take a look at the Maxfield Parrish image to the left. See how the composition is created not so much by the figures in the foreground, but by the blue sky that breaks through beautifully shaped tree branches. So I want you to think about shapes. How are you placing shapes within the rectangle? How are you going to make these shapes beautiful? How are you going to use color and contrast to move the eye through the painting? In the end, you want your painting to have a strong general composition, so from across the room it will look great! (Great simplified shapes.) Then, as you get closer to the painting, the smaller shapes should also be beautiful. So, from a macro scale to a micro scale, your painting is full of beautiful shapes.
In these two sketches, I want you to find ways to break up the rectangle with beautiful positive and negative shapes.
My info:
801.763.1602
jkirk@jkirkrichards.com
When you are finished with your artwork, or if at anytime you are stuck and don't know how to proceed, email me a scan or photograph and we will post it on this page for discussion.
